Graduation paper using projects to motivate 1st English major students to speak

When it comes to learning English: speaking, listening, reading and writing are 4 basic skills.. At Hai Phong Private University, for instance, a large number of students encounter many

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG

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GRADUATION PAPER

MAJOR STUDENTS TO SPEAK

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP ĐẠI HỌC HỆ CHÍNH QUY

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG

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NHIỆM VỤ ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP Sinh viên: Mã SV:

Lớp: Ngành:

Tên đề tài:

NHIỆM VỤ ĐỀ TÀI

1 Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ)

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2 Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán ………

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3 Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp ………

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CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP

Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất:

Họ và tên:

Học hàm, học vị:

Cơ quan công tác:

Nội dung hướng dẫn:

Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên:

Học hàm, học vị:

Cơ quan công tác:

Nội dung hướng dẫn:

Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày tháng năm

Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày tháng năm

Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN

Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2016

Hiệu trưởng

PHẦN NHẬN XÉT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN

1 Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp:

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2 Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu…): ………

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3 Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): ………

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Hải Phòng, ngày … tháng … năm 2016

Cán bộ hướng dẫn

(Ký và ghi rõ họ tên)

NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP

1 Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài

2 Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : ………

(Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ)

Ngày tháng năm 2016

Người chấm phản biện

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

LIST OF FIGURES, CHART AND TABLES

PART 1: INTRODUCTION………

1 Rationale……… 5

2 Aim of the study……….6

3 Scope of the study……….6

4 Method of study……… …… 7

5 Design of the study……… 8

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT……….9

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND……….……… 9

I Speaking skill……… …….9

1.1 Definition of speaking skill 9

1.2 The importance of speaking skills……… 12

1.3 The difficulties students encounter in learning speaking skills… …………13

2 Motivation……… 16

2.1 Definition of motivation……… 16

2.2 Kinds of motivation……… 17

2.3 Theories of motivation ……… …20

3 Projects………23

3.1 Definition of projects……… 23

3.2 Definition of projects based learning………23

3.3 Types of projects based learning……….24

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY……… 26

1.1 Participant and purpose of the survey and questionnaire……… 26

1.2 Design of questionnaire………26

1.3 Findings and discussion………27

1.4 Data and analysis……… 27

CHAPTER 3:PROJECTS TO MOTIVATE STUDENT TO SPEAK……… 40

I Projects to practice at home……….………40

1.1 Listening……… 41

1.2 Learning through songs………41

1.3 Self-talk………43

II Projects to practice at class…….………44

2.1 Group discussion……… ………44

2.2 Magazine design………45

2.3 Role-play……….,.…….47

III Some collected projects……… ………48

1 Project1……… 48

2 Project 2……… 49

3 Project 3……… 50

4 Project 4……… 50

5 Project 5……… 51

6 Project 6……… 52

7 Project 7……… 52

Chapter 4: CONCLUSION 53

Appendix 1.1: The survey questionnaire for students………54

Appendix 1.2: Some suggested websites……….57

Appendix 1.3: Some suggested songs………58

Appendix 1.4: A lyric of a song……… 61

List of references………64

Secondly, I am deeply grateful to Ms Rosy Nguyen who has made a great contribution in helping me with my thesis She is always like a sister who not only gives me precious advice about study but also cheers me up whenever I

am down

Last but not least, I would be nothing if I were not my mother’s daughter Through this thesis, I would like to thank her for supporting me all the times No matter how hard her life is, she tries her best to provide me a proper education and gives me opportunities to indulge my passion I much appreciate that

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

English is a dominant language which becomes more and more common

in over the world There is a fact that about 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English, while another 1,000,000,000 are still learning English Therefore, English is considered as a crucial tool to approach to the world’s advantageous opportunities If people are able to communicate in English, they can connect themselves to the world More importantly, the purpose of using English in diplomacy, trade, science and technology and so on is also another obvious proof of its significant role

Vietnam is not an exception; especially we have joined many organizations such as APECT, WTO, ASIAN and many other international groups To this point, it is essential for Vietnamese students to learn English because if they have a good understanding and communication skill in English, it is more likely that they might have many communication chances to find a high-quality job as well as communicate with people from different nations in all over the world

When it comes to learning English: speaking, listening, reading and writing are 4 basic skills While the three other skills are prominent in obtaining a wholesome English competence, speaking skill is always regarded

as one of the most important skills It goes without saying that, in terms of learning any language, the central purpose of every learner mainly is to communicate Thus, it is undeniable that speaking skill should be made priority for English learners because it seems that if they are productive

communicators, there will be a high possibility for them to get settled and well-paid jobs

However, to master this skill is still an issue for almost students in Vietnam At Hai Phong Private University, for instance, a large number of students encounter many difficulties with their speaking skills such as lack of motivation and environment, fear of speaking, fear of making mistakes and so

on As the difficulties mention above, the researcher anticipated these weakness is attributable to the lack of motivation and confidence of English-major students at Hai Phong private university In order to address this, the researcher adopts creatively ‘project-based learning’ as an active learning model to increase the appropriateness and the effectiveness for students Deci and Moller (2005) state that project based learning concerns much about student’s motivation which can help students develop their intrinsic motivation and take part in learning activities for “the spontaneous feelings of interest and enjoyment.” (Deci and Moller, 2005: 582) Intrinsic motivation means that students might motivate themselves to engage in learning As a result of this, students seem to solve the problem of lacking motivation Hopefully, this graduation paper might be useful for anyone who is interested

in speaking skill

2 Aim of the study

This graduation paper is written to find out:

+features and characteristics of speaking skills

+difficulties of students when learning speaking skills

+student's perception of projects used to motivate their speaking skill

+the effectiveness of using those projects

3 Scope of the study

In terms of learning English, there might be many problems related not only to speaking skills but also to other skills learners might usually confront However, due to limitation of time, knowledge and other shortages, it is impossible to deal with difficulties of all skills In regarding to this, the study will be focused on speaking skill only The participants involved in this research are and two English major classes of Hai Phong Private University The participants are all freshmen so that they can give objective opinions to have their problems found out From then, suggested projects somehow can

be more practical and relevant

4 Method of study

To carry out the research, many references and books relating to speaking skills and projects to motivate students have been approached Also, searching on the Internet was used for having a deeper understanding about specific details Besides, a survey was conducted to find out the data for analyzing in this thesis The participants are first year students of the English Department because English is absolutely essential for them to use and they are likely to use it more frequently than other non-major students When students use English regularly, they tend to confront with common problems

or difficulties that might hinder them to learn speaking skills effectively Therefore, it deems to be more objective to carry out the survey of English major students This might help to have a more profound effect during

constructing my dissertation As a result of it, it might be easier for me to suggest sensible projects for students to give them more encouragements and motivations so that they can effectively arouse themselves to speak

Finally, some suggested projects to motivate students to speak will be recommended for conclusion part

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical background

I Speaking skill

1.1 Definition of speaking skill?

Speaking skill is an important skill when learning a language It involved the speaker’s utterance management and construction in order to understand each other when it comes to speaking Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving (Maryann, 1999, p.1)

When someone speaks to other person, there forms a relationship The relationship itself is reflected and built through communication Wilson (1983:5) expanded this by stating, “speaking as development of the relationship between speaker and listener In addition, speaking determines which logical linguistic, psychological and physical rules should be applied in a given communicate situation” To meet the purpose of communication, the speaker needs to express exactly what he/she is going to speak That speaker has to notice the influence of his/her speech on the listeners, whether they understand the speaker’s speech or not, it means that, the listeners also can get the rule of speaking related to in general or individual

According to the opinions above, the researchers indicate that, when someone says something, it is crucial for that person to be aware of what he/she is mentioning about In relation to this the speaker should leave space for the responders to jointly construct the conversation by inviting new topics

in order to achieve a more effective conversation

Speaking skill is always used more regularly in comparison to listening, reading and writing There is also a correlation between speaking and listening “the relationship between speaking and listening has been extended to the assumption that speaking and listening are positively correlated“(Brillhart,1965, p.2).To support the relationship between speaking and listening,Tarigan (1990, p.3-4)defines “[s]peaking is a language skill that is developed in child life, which is produced by listening skill, and at that period speaking skill is learned Similarly, Stern (in Risnadedi, 2001, p.56-57)considers the definition of speaking through watching a small child’s speech development First he listens, then he speaks, understanding always produces speaking Therefore, this must be the right order of presenting the skills in a foreign language learning process In this learning of language included speaking, there is an activity of speaker or learner and it has to have an effect to build speaker’s or learner’s desires, express how his/her feeling and acting out his/her attitudes through speaking Thus learning of speaking cannot

be separated in leaning languages Also, a research has proven that speaking skill can help 3 other skills develop “[S]peaking can help the development of reading

competence(Hilferty: 2005), the development of writing(Trasel and Severino, 2004) as well as the development of listening skills(Regina,1997)

Speaking and writing is regarded as “productive skill” in comparison with “receptive skill” in terms of reading and listening (Shiamaa,2006, p.14) Unlike listening, reading and writing speaking are assumed to be to the most difficult skills When learners write or read something, which does not require learners to response right then It is impossible for the speakers to revise and

it seems that you might not have enough time to prepare for your speech carefully like when you write

Whilst Pendidikan Nasional stated, based on Competence Based Curriculum speaking is one of the four basic competences that the students should gain well It has an important role in communication (Departmen Pendidikan Nasional, 2004 p.1) In carrying out speaking, students face some difficulties; one of them is about language its self In fact, most of students get difficulties to speak even though they have a lot of vocabularies and have written them well The problems are afraid for students to make mistakes

While Wallace (1978) stated that oral practice (speaking) becomes meaningful to students when they have to pay attention to what they are saying Thus, the students can learn better on how to require the ability to converse or to express their ideas fluently with precise vocabularies and good

2001) stated that speaking ability is more complex and difficult than people assume, and speaking study like study other cases in study of language, naturalize many cases to language teachers

In conclusion,speaking skill is always considered as a domain of language and linguistic proper Therefore, Clark and Clark (in Nunan, 1991, p.23) stressed, “speaking is fundamentally an instrument act” Speakers talk in order to have some influences on their listeners It is the result of teaching learning process Students’ skill in conversation is mainly aimed at in terms of teaching speaking skill, it becomes vitally aspect in language teaching learning success if language functions as a system for conveying meaning, as Nunan (1991, p.39) states that the successful in speaking is measured through someone’s ability to carry out a conversation in the language

1.2 The importance of speaking skills

It is hard to describe a thing without speech, if we don’t use language to express our mean or purpose to do something, it might be distorted or difficult to get Thus, speaking is always considered the most crucial action of human being There might be no other effective way to communicate than speaking

The four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are all connected It is essential to be proficient in all of these skills to be a competent communicator However, it is worth mentioning that speaking skill tends to help the learners benefit more with some specific advantages The ability to express thoughts, emotions, and so on can provide a learner with these followingadvantages:

- Ability to hold the leadership Business managers, educators, military leaders, lawyers, and many others leaders need to develop their speaking skills so that they are capable of mastering public speaking Speaking clearly and confidently can help them get the attention of an audience, providing the precious opportunity for those speakers to transfer their messages and make them well-known by their speech Wise and successful speakers are who can gain and then hold the attentions of their audiences.Also how well-chosen the speakers select the vocabulary, organized and expressed things can determine the level of impact made after the speech

- The ability to be outstanding When it comes to speaking skills, everyone tends to think of it as a common skill However, ability to excel and to speak English effectively and confidently is not an ordinary ability Many people are extremely afraid of public speaking As a research shows that more than a half

of all population in the world are terribly afraid of public speaking while others are not so competent to form thoughts into sentences and make those words convincing More notably is that in the world there are not so many talent speakers but if a speaker whose skills are good and developed with constant opinions and much effort can stand out

- Ability to be popular A well-developed speaker can strengthen his negotiation skills That speaker can sign many important contracts and bring about profits not only for his company but also himself Additionally, his self-confidence is improved as well as a growing sense of comfort,which comes from speaking in front of big group of audiences The fame for excellent speech in speaking can accumulate day by day, thereby creating a certain trust

of the speaker “Speaking skills can enhance one’s personal life; thereby

bringing about the well-rounded growth we should all seek” (Gerald Gillis,2013, p.2)

1.3 The difficulties students encounter in learning speaking skills

When it comes to speaking, students might confront a variety of difficulties.Hetrakul (1995) stated that the first cause that makes the students’ speaking English difficulty is that the environment does not support the students to speak English frequently The environment here means the people outside the class Those people may think that the students just want to show off when they speak English for daily conversations The response that the students get makes them loose their self-confidence to improve their speaking The second cause is problem with grammar Hetrakul said that grammar is also very important for students when learning speaking skills; many students are quite confused with words usage If they want to master English, it is necessary for them to use grammar appropriately so that they can produce meaningful sentences

Similarly, Rababa’h (2005) also pointed out that there are many factors that cause difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners Some of these factors are related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies the curriculum, and the environment For example, many learners lack necessary vocabulary to get their meaning across, and consequently, they cannot keep the interaction going Inadequate strategic competence and communication competence can be another reason as well for not being able to keep the interaction going

Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English They do not see

a real need to learn or speak English

While Ur (1996) pointed out 4 main problems:

1 Inhibition, speaking requires real-time exposure to an audience Learners always try to speak their mother tongue in the classroom than speak English They are afraid of making mistakes then somehow they would be teased or laughed by their classmates

2 Nothing to say It is very common for every learner.They always complain that they cannot think of any idea Although they notice the importance of English, they still have no clear motivation to speak at classroom It is hard for them to express themselves even when being asked to do so

3 Low or uneven participation A person can take all time of speaking activities Thus, the others might not have chances to speak, or even they cannot speak any word

4 Mother-tongue use, many learners are too shy to use English in front of class They tend to prefer using mother tongue than English because they do not have to spend much time to think

Furthermore, all the other subjects are in Arabic, and English is seen as

an academic subject only, which means exposure to the English language is insufficient Similarly to Vietnamese students when they have to learn almost subjects in Vietnamese As a matter of fact, this problem should be prioritized

to solve Besides,the lack of a target language environment can be considered

another problem, which of course results in a lack of involvement in real-life situations Not allowing learners to participate in discourse can be another reason for speaking difficulties Learners need both to participate in discourse and to build up knowledge and skills for participation‖ in order to learn discourse skills (Cameron, 2001, p.36)

Also, there are a number of factors relating to speaking skills to be considered for effective English speaking performance Pronunciation, vocabulary, and collocations are emphasized as important factors to develop fluency for EFL speakers Providing students with a variety of situations and frequent speaking tasks plays a significant role in the improvement of students’ fluency when speaking (Tam, 1997)

There are some difficulties pointed out by linguistics Those barriers seem common for every English learner Therefore, it is very necessary to use some projects and motivations to help students solve their problem and engage in learning

2 Motivation

2.1 Definition of motivation

Wikipedia defines that motivation “is a theoretical construct used to explain behavior It represents the reasons for people's actions, desires, and needs Motivation can also be defined as one's direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behavior and vice versa.”

"The term motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behavior Motives are the "whys" of behavior - the needs or wants that drive behavior and explain what we do We don't actually observe

a motive; rather, we infer that one exists based on the behavior we observe."(Nevid, 2013,p.1)

According to Kendra Cherry (2016, p.1)“motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate behavior In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person does something.”

In addition, “motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he preservers” (Littlewood, 1984, p.53) “The development of communicative skills can only take place if learners have the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people around them

In conclusion, “motivation “are the "whys" of behavior - the needs or wants that drive behavior and explain what we do” (Nevid,2013, p.1) While,

in the educational environment for particular, motivation is a crucial tool to motivate student to take part in various ranges of activities or stimulate their interest in the lessons

2.2 Kinds of motivation

2.3 There are 2 kinds of motivations that Wikipedia classifies

a) Intrinsic motivation

“Intrinsic motivation has been studied since the early 1970s Intrinsic motivation is the self-desire to seek out new things and new challenges, to analyze one's capacity, to observe and to gain knowledge” It is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on external pressures or a desire for reward The phenomenon of intrinsic motivation was first acknowledged within experimental studies of animal behavior In these studies, it was evident that the organisms would engage in playful and curiosity driven behaviors in the absence of reward Intrinsic motivation is a natural motivational tendency and is a critical element in cognitive, social, and physical development Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well

as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

+ Attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also known as autonomy or locus of control

+ Believe they have the skills to be effective agents in reaching their

+ Desired goals, also known as self-efficacy beliefs are interested in mastering a topic, not just in achieving good grades

An example of intrinsic motivation is when an employee becomes an IT professional because he or she wants to learn about how computer users interact with computer networks The employee has the intrinsic motivation

to gain more knowledge Traditionally, researchers thought of motivations to

use computer systems to be primarily driven by extrinsic purposes; however, many modern systems have their use driven primarily by intrinsic motivations Examples of such systems used primarily to fulfill users’ intrinsic motivations, include on-line gaming, virtual worlds, online shopping, learning/education, online dating, digital music repositories, social networking, online pornography, gamified systems, and general gamification Even traditional management information systems are being ‘gamified’ such that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations must increasingly be considered.” b) Extrinsic motivation

“Extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain a desired outcome and it is the opposite of intrinsic motivation.” Extrinsic motivation comes from influences outside of the individual In extrinsic motivation, the harder question to answer is where do people get the motivation to carry out and continue to push with persistence Usually extrinsic motivation is used to attain outcomes that a person wouldn't get from intrinsic motivation Common extrinsic motivations are rewards (for example money or grades) for showing the desired behavior, and the threat of punishment following misbehavior Competition is an extrinsic motivator because it encourages the performer to win and to beat others, not simply to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity A cheering crowd and the desire to win a trophy are also extrinsic incentives

Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to overjustification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation In one study demonstrating this effect, children who expected to be (and were) rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing pictures spent less time

playing with the drawing materials in subsequent observations than children who were assigned to an unexpected reward condition However, another study showed that third graders who were rewarded with a book showed more reading behavior in the future, implying that some rewards do not undermine intrinsic motivation While the provision of extrinsic rewards might reduce the desirability of an activity, the use of extrinsic constraints, such as the threat of punishment, against performing an activity has actually been found to increase one's intrinsic interest in that activity In one study, when children were given mild threats against playing with an attractive toy,

it was found that the threat actually served to increase the child's interest in the toy, which was previously undesirable to the child in the absence of threat

2.3 Theories of motivation

According to (Kendra Cherry,2016, p.2-3) There are 6 different theories

of motivation:

a) Instinct Theory of Motivation

“According to instinct theories, people are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are arranged to do so.” For example it is seasonal migration of animal These animals do this because it is necessary to move to another place suitable with their habit

b) Incentive Theory of Motivation

“The incentive theory suggests that people are motivated to do things because of external rewards Behavioral learning concepts such as association and reinforcement play an important role in this theory of motivation.”For

instance, people might be motivated to work every day because of the salary This reward tends to make everyone feel encouraged to work

This theory mentions to some correspondences with the behaviorist concept of visible conditioning In operant conditioning, behaviors are learned

by forming associations with consequences Encouragement strengthens a behavior while punishment seems make it weaker

While incentive theory is similar, it proposes that people intentionally pursue certain courses of action in order to achieve rewards The greater the rewards are, the more strongly people are motivated to chase those reinforcements which indicates that people are likely to follow certain actions

so as to gain prize

c) Drive Theory of Motivation

According to the drive theory of motivation, people are motivated to take certain actions in order to reduce the tension inside that is caused by unsatisfied needs For example, you might be motivated to have a sip of water

in order to reduce your state of being thirsty This theory is useful in explaining behaviors that have a strong biological component, such as hunger

or thirst

d) Arousal Theory of Motivation

The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people take certain actions to either decrease or increase levels of arousal When arousal levels get too low, for example, a person might watch a fascinating series of a sitcom

or hang out for a walk When arousal levels get too high, on the other hand, a

person would probably look for ways to relax such as sleeping or reading a book According to this theory, we are motivated to maintain the best level of arousal, although this level can vary based on the individual or the circumstance

e) Humanistic Theory of Motivation

Humanistic theories of motivation are based on the idea that people also have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which presents different motivations at different levels First, people are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love, and esteem Once the lower level needs have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-actualization, or the desire to fulfill one's individual potential

f) Expectancy Theory of Motivation

The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that when we are thinking about the future, we formulate different expectations about what we think will happen When we predict that there will most likely be a positive outcome, we believe that we have the ability to make that possible future a reality This leads people to feel more motivated to pursue those likely outcomes The theory proposes that motivations consist of three key elements: valence, instrumentality, and expectancy Valence refers to the value with place on the potential outcome Things that seem unlikely to produce personal benefit have a low valence, while those that offer immediate personal rewards have a much higher valence

Instrumentality refers to whether people believe that they have a role to play

in the predicted outcome If the event seems random or outside of the individual's control, people will feel less motivated to pursue that course of action If the individual plays a major role in the success of the endeavor, however, people well feel more instrumental in the process Expectancy is the belief that one has the capabilities to produce the outcome If people feel like they lack the skills or knowledge to achieve the desired outcome, they will be less motivated to try People who feel capable, on the other hand, will be more likely to try to reach that goal

3 Projects

3.1 Definition of projects

Wikipedia defines that “In contemporary business and science a project

is a collaborative enterprise, involving research or design that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim One can also define a project as a set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations Projects can be also regarded as a plan constituted by a team or a big group to finish any task or to meet the deadline

3.2 Definition of projects based learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning around projects According to the definitions found in PBL handbooks for teachers, projects are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities; give students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or presentations

(Jones, Rasmussen, & Moffitt, 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller & Michaelson, 1999)

Another definition comes from a website called glossary of education reform defines “Project-based learning refers to any programmatic or instructional approach that utilizes multifaceted projects as a central organizing strategy for educating students When engaged in project-based learning, students will typically be assigned a project or series of projects that require them to use diverse skills such as researching, writing, interviewing, collaborating, or public speaking to produce various work products, such as research papers, scientific studies, public-policy proposals, multimedia presentations, video documentaries, art installations, or musical and theatrical performances, for example Unlike many tests, homework assignments, and other more traditional forms of academic coursework, the execution and completion of a project may take several weeks or months, or it may even unfold over the course of a semester or year.”

3.3 Types of projects based learning

We thought we grow teachers, an online website gives 3 different types

of projects based learning

a) 1 Challenge-Based Learning/Problem-Based Learning

Challenge-Based Learning is “an engaging multidisciplinary approach to teaching and learning that encourages students to leverage the technology they use in their daily lives to solve real-world problems through efforts in their homes, schools and communities.”

It is fundamentally a re-branded version of Problem-Based Learning in that both have finding solutions to problems over a period of time as their structure

b) 2 Place-Based Education

“Immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences; uses these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum, and emphasizes learning through participation in service projects for the local school and/or community.” Technically one could learn through a Place-Based Education and not do projects at all, but the idea of performing authentic work

in intimate communities certainly lends itself neatly to Project-Based Learning Projects performed in local communities

c) 3 Activity-Based Learning

Activity-Based Learning takes a kind of constructivist approach, the idea being students constructing their own meaning through hands-on activities, often with manipulatives and opportunities to experiment Much of the information out there on Activity-Based Learning comes from India, but Pearson also has some textbook-based resources as well

Chapter 2: The study 1.1 Participant and purpose of the survey and questionnaire

The participants were 50 freshmen from 2 English major classes of Hai Phong private University As I mentioned earlier, the survey is likely to be more objective and precise due to the duration of learning English at university for those students They are freshmen, it means that, their opportunities to practice English is not as many as second-year or third-year student’s, especially speaking skills might be new with them because in high school Vietnamese student are all oriented in learning grammar only Also, it can be assumed that, speaking skill plays a very significant role; hence if they

do well at first, the later steps will be much easier Besides, the awareness of learning English is still poor; they tend not to consider learning English important let alone speaking skills Thus, encouragements and motivations should be recommended to help those students be aware of realizing the importance of English and have correct methods empowering them to learn

In terms of having longer time to learn at university, freshmen seem have more opportunities to apply those projects into reality and improve their speaking skills more effectively than others students because they have more time to be motivated and have more chances to correct their mistakes by themselves

The survey questionnaire is designed for 3 main purposes:

+ To know the students’ attitude for learning speaking skills

+ To find out the difficulties of student with speaking skills

+ To have the best suggestions to solve student’s problems

1 Design of questionnaire

In this present study, there are ten questions included to ask students about their difficulties when learning speaking skills and choose the most effective projects to motivate them to speak

From question 1 to 4, students were asked to illustrate their length of time of learning English and their attitude for the importance of speaking skills

Question 5 and 6 are about the difficulties of students with speaking skills Question 7, 8 and 9 are chosen projects that can motivate student to speak Question 10 is conducted to inquire about the best suitable projects for the students

1.1 Findings and discussion

After conducting the survey, it goes without saying that, speaking skill is chosen to be the most crucial skill by the students and the most common difficulties they have encountered when they speak is lack of motivation Most

of students regarded praise of teacher as the best motivation to motivate them

to speak Next, debating, presentation and role-plays are three most popular pedagogical methods that were chosen by students to be the most effective projects to them To dig deeply into this study, collected data will be analyzed and discussed

1.2 Data and analysis

Question 1: how long have you been studying English?

Figure 1: Students’ years of studying English

This chart above indicates the length of time learning English of 50 English-major students Initially, it can be seen that the number students who have been learning English over 10 years take the highest proportion totally

100 percentage compared with learning English from 7-10 years and for 5 years Interestingly, no proportion of students learning English from 5 years

to 10 years was shared at all

Student's length of time of learning English

Student's year of studying English

2 Which skills do you like the most?

Figure 2: The most favorite skill

The purpose of this question is to ask students to point out their most favorite skill so that a plan will be designed according to what they are interested From the chart, the given result shows that students are quite excited about learning speaking skill, which occupies for the highest percentage of all four skills around44% in comparison with listening 24% Surprisingly, reading and writing skills share the same proportion of 17 % of student’s interest in learning English

42

24 17

17

0

Which skill do you like the most?

Speaking skill Listening skill Reading skill Writing skill